ABSTRACT
Competitive advantage may be relatively easy to achieve by preferred suppliers to their co-ethnic group. However, achieving a preferred supplier status depends on the value proposition, encapsulating a variety of tactical activities of which “people” is a major one. The importance of people to ethnic marketing practice is foremost a human resources problem caused by limited cross-cultural business skills tied to deficient understanding of ethnic markets. Ethnic minority business may benefit from the knowledge they have of their co-ethnic group, presumed to contribute to competitive advantage vis-a-vis non-co-ethnic businesses.
Any skills gaps can be bridged through training, but it is important to note is that it is the business as a whole that needs to learn and operationalize the necessary skills to successfully satisfy customer needs and preferences in alternative cultural markets, not individual employees.
Issues of ethics and social responsibility are discovered entwined with the discussion of people. Attention thus focusses on providing an updated perspective of how these issues impact ethnic minority business. Issues emanating from the internet revolution and globalization are also briefly discussed.
